Kepler Robotics has deployed its K2 “Bumblebee” humanoid on an operational production line at Zhaofeng Motor. The deployment is focused on autonomous navigation, component loading and unloading, and short-cycle repetitive manipulation — tasks chosen to match current strengths in perception, motion control, and endurance. This represents a practical step in moving mass‑produced humanoid platforms from lab demos into day‑to‑day industrial use.
What happened
The K2 “Bumblebee” is active on a Zhaofeng Motor assembly station, programmed and managed through Kepler Studio. The robot performs autonomous on‑floor navigation and repetitive parts handling with stable execution and predictable task cycles.
Kepler has moved the K2 into mass production and begun field deliveries to industrial partners. The Zhaofeng deployment is an early production trial rather than a wide fleet rollout, but it demonstrates a credible integration path for humanoids in structured manufacturing environments.
Technical snapshot
- Architecture: Hybrid actuation (planetary roller screw linear actuators + rotary actuators) to balance precision, load capacity and durability.
- Size & mass: Approx. 175 cm tall; ~75 kg.
- Kinematics & sensors: Roughly 52 degrees of freedom and more than 80 onboard sensors for combined proprioception and exteroception.
- Endurance & payload: Reported 1‑hour charge cycle enabling up to ~8 hours operational runtime; dual‑arm payloads reported up to ~30 kg for short lifts.
- Software: Kepler Studio for deployment and orchestration; layered perception and control stacks using imitation learning and RL for sim‑to‑real transfer.
Integration notes and implications
Tasks best suited now: predictable, repetitive manipulation and logistics work in well‑structured, static workspaces (loading/unloading, parts handoff). These minimize complex contact dynamics and ambiguous perception tasks.
Operational readiness: The Zhaofeng deployment suggests feasible ROI cases for factories that already use AMRs/AGVs and structured production flows. Integration costs and cycle‑time impact remain undisclosed; independent benchmarks not yet public.
Limitations: No independent performance metrics (uptime, MTBF, cycle time) have been published. Human oversight and periodic intervention are still necessary for exception handling.
Why it matters
This deployment is a practical demonstration that mass‑produced humanoid platforms can be integrated into real assembly operations. If the initial trials scale, expect incremental expansion into logistics cells and collaborative tasks that free humans from repetitive, ergonomically hazardous work.